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13.0QPEGOR & P. W. BARTLETT. Canning Shrimps and other Fish.

No. 226,347. Patented April 6, I880.

%ESSES I JV VEN'TO RS UNITED STATES PATE T OFFICE.

EMMETT O. PEOOR AND FREDERICK W. BARTLETT, OF GALVESTON, TEXAS; SAID BARTLETT ASSIGNOR TO SAID PEGOR.

CANNING SHRIMPS AND OTHER FISH.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 226,347, dated April 6, 1880.

Application filed August 13, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, EMMETT 0. Prison and FREDERICK W. BARTLETT, of Galveston, Texas, have invented an Improvement in Preserving Shrimps and other Fish, of which the following is a specification.

Our inven tion relates to the canning of shrimps and," other like shell-fish, and has for its object the better preservation of the fish and greater expedition and cheapness in canning.

Heretofore it has been the practice, in canning shrimps and-like shell-fish, to inclose the fish in a bag made of some textile fabric, to place the bag containingxthe fish within an ordinary tin can, and then tosubject the can and its contents to the ordinary boiling and mode of treatment such as are ordinarily used in canning vegetable and animal substances. This mode of treatment, when applied to the preservation of shrimps, is to a certain extent defective, for the reason that certain acids oracidulous substances existing in or generated from the fish attack the tin of the can, and thereby impart to the contents an unpleasant 2 5 taste, greatly affecting the quality of the food thus preserved;

The first part of our invention has for its. object to obviate this difficulty; and it consists in lining the can with a coating of asphaltum cement. This coating we form of any good quality of asphaltum dissolved in any solvent suitable for the purpose. When the solutionis of proper consistency for convenient application we coat in any convenient way the whole interior of the can therewith, and also apply a coating to the inside of the cover, which has been previously fitted to the can. The coating within the can and upon the cover is then thoroughly dried, and the 0 can is then ready to receive its contents. This Coating effectually protects the metal of the can from the action of any acids or acidulous substances, and we have found by careful and thorough experiments that it serves to 5 preserve the shrimps perfectly fresh and sweet.

Besides its quality of resistance to the action of acids, it is tough and flexible, and does not break when the can, as often happens, is indented or bent.

In carrying out the second part of our invention, instead of the ordinary bag of textile material which has heretofore been used to inclose the shrimps, we have found that acheaper and better substitute may be made from paper, which we prepare and apply in the following manner: The paper being first coated with a hot solution of paraffine, (or kindred .substance, paraffine being the best,) we cut from any suitable kind of paper two disks just large enough to fit into the can. We then cut 60 another strip of paper in width just equal to the interior depth of the can, and long enough, when placed within the can, to cover the interior surface. We then place one disk of paper upon the bottom of the can, the interior surface having been previously coated, as heretofore described. We next place the strip of paper which is to cover the walls of the can in proper position, then fill the can with the shrimps, put in place the paper cover, then solder upon the can the tin covering. The subsequent treatment is in accordance with the well-known practice in canning vegetable and animal substances. This paper lining is much more cheaply and expeditiously applied than the cloth bags heretofore used, as no sewing is required.

We have found, also, that the larger intestiines of animals may be utilized for this purpose by thoroughly cleansing and cutting them of proper length. They may be closed at the lower end by tying in the ordinary manner.

Refe'nrin g e tothe accompanying drawing, which represents a can with the cover in place and one side partly broken away, A is the outer shell ofinetal. The bituminous coating is represented at b and the paper at c.

Manifestly the iproportions of the can may be changed without departing from the spirit of our invention.

We are aware that wooden cans and boxes have heretofore been .known with a lining of asphalt or parafline, and we are also aware that tin cans havelieen Eeretofore lined with copal varnish. We do not,therefore, broadly 5 claim the lining of cans with asphaltum without regard to the material of which the can is made, and distinctly limit our claim to the flexible lining described, which, as heretofore stated, when joined with thin-metal cans has lined with asphaltum cement in the manner described, an interior. paper lining prepared I 5 with paraffine, as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the preseifce of two subscribing witnesses.

EMMETT O. PEOOR. FREDERICK W. BARTLETT.

Witnesses: J

A. J. WALKER, Guns. EVANS. 

